Dog the Bounty Hunter's Daughter Suffers Devastating Loss
Bonnie Chapman, the 24-year-old daughter of Duane "Dog the Bounty Hunter" Chapman is going through another unbearable family tragedy.
Less than five years after the death of her mother and Dog's late wife, Beth Chapman, Bonnie lost almost all of her personal belongings in a house fire at her rental home in Fishersville, Virginia, which also took the lives of six of her beloved pets.
The incident happened on Tuesday, April 25, after Bonnie and her boyfriend Ismael received a call that their house was burning down. By the time she arrived on the scene, most of their home and belongings had already been destroyed.
"I lost my home and most of my belongings in a devastating house fire," Bonnie told Entertainment Tonight this week. "What's even more heartbreaking is that I also lost my six beloved pets: Merlyn, Plum, Azriel, Nyssa, Sophie and Stokley."
"Their beautiful souls brought joy, love and meaning into my life, and I am deeply grieving their loss," she stated of her late pets, which included three cats, a dog, a gecko and a pet snake, all of which died from smoke inhalation.
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In the wake of the tragedy, Bonnie made a point to thank the Augusta County Fire Department for doing what they could to extinguish the fire and save her pet family.
"I want to express my heartfelt gratitude to the Augusta County Fire Department workers who responded to the scene and extinguished the fire. Their incredible care, compassion, and professionalism truly amazed me," she stated. "They arrived in less than five minutes after receiving the first emergency call, and they even attempted to resuscitate my pets after rescuing them from the burning home. The firefighters took great care to respect my pets and demonstrated heroic efforts to save them."
"I am deeply grateful for the exceptional service and support provided by the Augusta County Fire Department during this difficult time," she added.
Fortunately, one very personal item that wasn't destroyed in the blaze was her late mother's ashes, which she said was one of her biggest fears amid the tragedy.
"I lost some of the photos of my mother and some of the belongings of hers, but I was able to salvage some of them," Bonnie revealed to TMZ. "I was able to salvage my ashes that I have of my mother, and that was one of my main worries."
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As a result of the fire—which Bonnie said was "caused by an electrical issue"— Bonnie said she has no plans to start up any fundraising for the assets that were lost, but that she hopes to get cremation rings and portraits of the animals that died.
"That's how I'm gonna honor them and I'm gonna keep them with me at all times, because they filled my life with so many memories," she explained. "My oldest cat, Plum, she was my mother's favorite, and we're both divas, and I hope that my mom is really happy to have Plum with her."
Bonnie's mom, Beth, who had been married to Dog since 2006, co-starred on the TV series Dog the Bounty Hunter, Dog and Beth: On the Hunt and Dog's Most Wanted in the years before her death.
She died in June 2019 at age 51 following a battle with throat cancer. Dog has since tied the knot with new wife Francie Frane, who he wed in 2021.
